1. Field of the Invention
The present invention mainly relates to a coupling equipment for connecting connectors of wire-harnesses adopted in automotive vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been proposed a conventional coupling device for connecting connectors used in vehicles or the like so far, a case in point being the one disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No.52-133993 as shown in FIG. 9. In the figure, reference character a denotes a male connector, and reference character b denotes a female connector, wherein each of the connectors accommodates a plurality of terminal metals therein, so that the terminal metals of the respective connectors can be connected upon mutual engagement of the male and female connectors.
In the same Figure, a fitting operation lever c is pivotably supported by a supporting shaft d on the external surface of the male connector a, which operation lever comprising a guide groove c1 at the front end portion thereof, and an operation rod c2 at the rear end portion thereof, wherein at the far end of the operation rod c2, a main locking projection e is further provided. When the operation lever c completes a coupling operation of the connectors, the locking projection e is firmly engaged with a main engaging piece f. As for the female connector b, a slide pin q is protrudingly disposed on the external surface thereof in such a location that it directly faces against the operation lever c so as to be guided into the guide groove c1 of thereof.
In this construction above, the terminal metals accommodated in the respective male connector a and the female connector b are immediately put in a slightly fitted state therebetween, and if the operation lever c is rotated in this state, the guide groove c1 is engaged with the slide pin q and the guide groove c1 draws the slide pin toward itself as the rotation advances, whereby the respective male and female connectors a and b are engaged with each other, and this engaged state is maintained when the fitting operation of the two connectors is completed and the main locking projection e is engaged with the main engaging piece f as shown in FIG. 10.
However, the above construction contains such a defect that in the above slightly fitted state merely by way of the terminal metals of the respective connectors, the male connector a easily comes off even with a light tension applied to the connecting cable, and thus the male connector a gets unhinged and broken even before the coupling operation is conducted by the operation lever c.